Sugar Shortages in Kenya

There have been on and off shortages of sugar in Kenya for a month or two. I don’t buy sugar very often (how much do you really need anyways?), but twice in the last few weeks I’ve gone to my regular supermarket to buy some and I’ve found shelves empty. Last week, for example, I wanted to buy some sugar so I could bake some OMG brownies, but neither Uchumi nor Nakumatt had any sugar!

Luckily my buddy found a few bags in a store downtown and dropped by to deliver ’em. As we chatted he shared a theory with me about the shortages: supermarkets in upper-class suburbs like Westlands will never have sugar because, after a shortage, people will buy ten bags once it finally trickles back into stores. Grocery stores in other areas, though, have a different demographic: people who can only afford one bag!

Looks like he was right. I saw this sign on the pile of sugar at Nakumatt Junction yesterday: